


If I Look Hard Enough Into The Setting Sun

by SSAlias



Category: Archie Comics & Related Fandoms, Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: 60's AU, Banter, Busboy!Sweet Pea, HIGHLY RECOMMEND, M/M, Music, Slow Burn, i sat on the top 100 chart for '66 at 3 in the morning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-25
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:59:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22887442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SSAlias/pseuds/SSAlias
Summary: Sweet Pea considered himself a pretty decent guy. A lot of his personal beliefs were forged by Serpent code. He didn’t see anything wrong with that. What he did see wrong was how the assholes on the Northside could go about celebrating their heated homes and new cars while there were literal toddlers starving to death just five minutes away.So, why the hell was he currently wasting away his day spray painting free advertisement on the side of the football team’s locker room at Riverdale High?
Relationships: Reggie Mantle/Sweet Pea
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	1. you're the kind of person you meet at certain dismal, dull affairs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I started this fic like two years ago, uploaded it, deleted it, ignored it, and eventually came back.

When he was younger, Sweet Pea found Riverdale to be full of excitement and adventure. From the unknown territory of the Northside, to where Sweet Water River caressed the edges of the Southside, there was an infinite amount of possibilities on what he could do. With no ties to anything or anyone, he felt like a blank slate that could end up anywhere. However, the older he got, the more bleak life in Riverdale seemed. The magical place he grew up in had slapped him hard with reality, and with each passing day, it seemed that his beloved town was _Dante’s_ missing tenth circle.

Sweet Pea grew up in a now-abandoned orphanage in the shittiest slums of southern Riverdale but was lucky enough to go to Southside Elementary Public School. He met Toni back in first grade, and since their meeting, they had spent nearly every waking second together. Sweet Pea told her about what the orphanage was like and how he saw the world as someone with no ties to any family. In turn, Toni would tell him countless stories about a gang the Uktena had created, a gang that stood against prejudice, and how racism and classism went hand in hand and how her family actively fought against it. Sweet Pea was captivated by these stories and imagined the Southside Serpent members the same way he viewed superheroes in comic books. 

Sweet Pea was so intrigued by the Serpents that he often snuck out of the orphanage and to Sunnyside Trailer Park so he could learn more about them and the things they did. Under blanket-forts lit up by flashlights, he would hear about the peace protests and Christmas fundraisers, but also the darker things like the fights with the Ghoulies and drug rings that neither he nor Toni was supposed to know of. These tales struck something in Sweet Pea and made him crave the life of a Serpent. He wanted the adventure and anticipation that came with being a gangster. Yet, he was hesitant to voice his want. A deep-seated fear of rejection grasped him by the throat whenever Toni wistfully talked about her blood connection to the gang which meant eventually she’d become their leader. That never kept him distant from Toni though, their friendship was more important than his envy.

After nearly two years of sneaking in and out of the orphanage, the nuns stopped calling the police in a fruitless attempt to save what they considered a lost cause, and Sweet Pea stopped leaving the Topaz residence at the break of dawn. He considered it a win-win. 

Toni’s grandfather, Thomas, didn’t seem to mind the extra mouth to feed, as long as his granddaughter was happy.

The first time they were allowed into the Whyte Wyrm, they were in fifth grade. Thomas had brought them on a random Friday after school, and the first thing Sweet Pea noticed when those seemingly giant doors opened, was the pool table set center of the main room. The second thing he noticed was FP Jones standing in front of him with a welcoming smile. The man knelt down and greeted Toni first, but Sweet Pea didn’t mind being ignored for a bit. He was too distracted thinking about the pool table. He had learned a few card games from Toni’s grandpa, and Sweet Pea had found that he enjoyed the thrill of gambling. When FP turned his attention to Sweet Pea, the boy couldn’t think of anything to say other than, “Can you teach me pool?” 

Since then, Sweet Pea and Toni hung out at the Whyte Wyrm more often than not. Typically, the adults would shut them out of meetings or inductions into the gang, and the pair was bothered by it but knew bringing it up would seem like distrust for the Serpents, so they bit the bullet and waited patiently for their time to come. Toni reached thirteen before Sweet Pea, so she was allowed to become an official member first. Despite knowing what she’d have to do in order to join, the night before she had to go through the last stage of the initiation, she confessed to Sweet Pea that there wasn’t anything she _wouldn’t_ do for the gang.

“They’re my family, Pea. They’re _our_ family.” Toni told him. 

Her determination to join helped fuel Sweet Pea’s own eagerness. With her words, he stopped fearing that the Serpents would reject him and accepted them as his family too. Even when Toni was nearly bitten by the rattlesnake she had to retrieve a knife from, he felt excitement at the prospect of eventually getting his own tattoo and jacket.

When his thirteenth birthday did finally roll around in April, Sweet Pea stood waiting outside the Whyte Wyrm’s doors with Toni before anyone else had even woke up. By the end of the day, he had a black eye, busted lip, and dislocated shoulder but the scent of his new leather jacket outweighed any downsides about his inauguration. 

The jacket wasn’t the only benefit Sweet Pea got after becoming a true member. Slowly, he gained other things. Within the first year, he was allowed to get his Serpent tattoo and work odd jobs with other Serpents. Some of the other guys even let him practice driving their motorcycles after he made a few comments about how cool they looked. Within the first eighteen months, Sweet Pea had solidified his position as a member that other Serpents could rely on.

A few months before Sweet Pea turned fifteen, Fangs’s family moved into town. He was quiet at first, not akin to saying too much when a lot of people were around, but one day Sweet Pea was paired up with Fangs during gym class. Surprisingly, they had made fast friends, which lead to Sweet Pea introducing the other boy to Toni. Together, the three of them formed a bond that still held to the current day.

Of course, spending so much time with Toni and Sweet Pea meant that Fangs learned about the Serpents from exposure. Against Sweet Pea’s expectations, Fangs seemed even more eager than _himself_ to become a member. It was a shock at first, but Sweet Pea soon adapted to the hidden devil behind Fangs’ smile and found that he really didn’t mind it all that much.

A little over a year after that, FP called an emergency meeting out of the blue. Sweet Pea was hanging out at the Fogarty’s trailer and playing cards on his day off of work. He had dropped out of school recently to focus on scraping a little extra cash for him and his friends, so he tried spending all the off time he could manage with them whenever possible. Fangs was telling him about the book they were reading in class when Toni knocked on the front door and told them that FP was calling for all the younger Serpents. Fangs and Sweet Pea tugged on their jackets and patted their pockets for their blades before following Toni to the Whyte Wyrm.

The meeting turned out to be a literal _meeting_. Sweet Pea never questioned FP about his family, out of respect for the man’s privacy and knowing that it wasn’t his place to ask questions, so it was a bit of a shocker when Sweet Pea found himself being introduced to Jughead Jones, FP’s son who seemed less than thrilled to be surrounded by the local teen hoodlums.

Maybe it was the fact that aside from Toni’s grandfather, FP was the only real parental figure in Sweet Pea’s life, that made him immediately dislike Jughead. Or maybe it was the constant barrage of “sardonic humor” and unimpressed looks that seemed to make up ninety percent of the younger Jones’ personality that ticked him off. Or maybe it was the fact that Jughead had willing lived on the Northside for _years_ and suddenly decided that he had a right to slum it with poor kids of Riverdale- another example of the wealthy taking from the poor- that pissed Sweet Pea off. Needless to say, for a long while, Sweet Pea and Jughead did not get along.

At some point though, on the cusp of his seventeenth year of life, Jughead was there when Sweet Pea needed him. Since then, they’d been pretty alright pals.

Even though he really only had three friends, and he had a fairly short temper, and he sometimes did things without thinking them through, Sweet Pea considered himself a pretty decent guy. A lot of his personal beliefs were forged by Serpent code. Most of those were centered in fierce loyalty to the Southside Serpents, who practically raised him alongside Thomas. He didn’t see anything wrong with that. What he did see wrong, was how the assholes on the Northside could go about celebrating their heated homes and new cars while there were literal toddlers starving to death just five minutes away.

So, why the hell was he currently wasting away his day spray painting free advertisement on the side of the football team’s locker room at Riverdale High?

It was a cold, foggy day, so there weren’t many people out and about. Sweet Pea’s shift at Pop’s didn’t start until ten and he had woken up near noon feeling restless. On impulse, he tugged on a tattered old hoodie he snatched from the thrift store and his old school backpack before setting off mindlessly. His feet carried him along the train tracks bordering the northern and southern sides of Riverdale, only slipping off the rails a few times. He would have gone and hung out with Toni or Fangs, but they both had school projects to do. Besides, Sweet Pea wasn’t even supposed to be awake right now. He should have been at home and getting some rest before work.

Yet, here he stood, spray painting the word “BULLDOGS” across the side of government-owned property. He could have spray painted something different, like a giant snake or some profound imagery, but he just couldn’t bring up the malintent he normally felt when crossing to the other side of town. He chalked it up to the dreary weather and shrugged off the unnerving feeling of being content.

Setting all his focus to the task at hand, he arched his arm up to form the “O” for the graffiti. He had thrown some tags up before on the Southside, one of his favorite pastimes was spraying over Ghoulie territory or doing new paint jobs on bikes. Back in school, he wasn’t really interested in any art classes or anything like that, but there was something about spray painting that he really enjoyed. It didn’t feel like he needed to know any rules or follow any guidelines when it came to spraying a wall. Of course, when he was coating bikes it was different- more meticulous- but this was relaxing. 

There were a few birds chirping off in the distance, and faintly Sweet Pea could hear cars driving by the school every now and then, but aside from that, the only other sounds were his own breathing and the sound of the spray can. Feeling a little uneasy by the horror movie-esque vibes he was getting, he began humming a Rolling Stones song he heard over the radio the other day. Under his breath, he began muttering the lyrics. It was horribly off-key, but he was the only one around, so what did it matter?

“ _Center of the crowd talkin’ much too loud, runnin’ up and down the stairs._

 _Well, it seems to me that you have seen too much in too few years._ ”

He kept his quiet tone of singing while finishing up the last few letters of his piece. He was lucky to still have some blue and yellow paint in his bag, more of the former than the latter, so the base of the word was a deep blue and it was outlined with a yellow accent. It looked pretty damn good in Sweet Pea’s opinion. He stepped back for a moment and admired his handy work. Satisfied, he began packing up and leaving no trace of his presence. He didn’t want this to fall back on the Serpents if someone did potentially get mad. He was all for a fight, but only a fight deserved. Starting shit over some paint seemed ridiculous. It was better to let the students at Riverdale High take the fall if anyone was opposed to the free labor Sweet Pea had just spent a few hours providing.

Still humming, Sweet Pea capped the spray cans and tucked them back in his backpack. He was zipping it closed when a voice suddenly appeared, spooking him enough to send him flat on his ass.

He looked up from under his hood and felt his anger flare up at who had arrived.

Sweet Pea didn’t know of too many kids on the Northside, but he did know about Reggie Mantle. The guy was another rich, self-entitled prick with a hard-on for ruining people’s days. He had never actually spoken to Reggie personally, aside from taking his order a few times when he showed up at Pop’s blitzed out of his mind, but Sweet Pea had heard stories about him. Reggie drove a fast car. Reggie went to parties. Reggie was popular. And worst of all, Reggie was captain of the football team, meaning Sweet Pea had just blazed his turf. 

Working late shifts at Pop’s had its downsides, but one of the major upsides was that Sweet Pea could stay in the loop without actually asking around. That was why he knew about Reggie. Not because he looked into the guy or anything weird like that. Sweet Pea couldn’t care less about egotistical, chiseled guys that could probably land a few goods hits on him in a brawl. Sweet Pea didn’t care about the fact that Reggie had life made with obvious natural talent and born with good looks or the fact that he gave off an Elvis Presley mixed with James Dean feeling that _definitely_ didn’t make Sweet Pea do a double-take anytime he caught even the faintest glimpse of that perfect gelled back hair _that wasn’t currently gelled and instead falling freely around the other guy’s face. Was he in the middle of a run- wait, shit, he’s saying something._

“Huh?” Sweet Pea asked smartly.

Reggie rolled his eyes in good nature, but that didn’t mean Sweet Pea wasn’t any less ticked off by the small action, “I asked if Weatherbee finally took the stick outta his ass and let us decorate the locker room. It was supposed to be rhetorical and get a laugh, but the fact that you were zoning out and not paying attention completely killed my joke. Thanks for that.”

Sweet Pea wanted to bite back with a snide comment that would degrade Reggie’s looks all while making him feel utterly underwhelming and stupid at once, but rather than be smooth and cool, Sweet Pea once again ran his mouth without thinking, “Who the fuck is Weatherbee?”

Letting out the kind of chuckle people do whenever someone yanks their chain but they aren’t really in the mood for it, Reggie raised an eyebrow, “You’re jokin’, right?” Reggie squatted down to be eye level with Sweet Pea and narrowed his eyes. “Are you new here? I don’t think we’ve properly met.”

Scoffing, Sweet Pea said, "As if I'd ever go to a place like this."

"Now what's that supposed to mean?" Reggie questioned accusatorily, a dark look taking over his features.

Sweet Pea hauled himself up and snatched his backpack, ignoring Reggie's angry look. He needed to go before he got himself in trouble- he wasn’t thinking straight right now. Sweet Pea was going to walk away, something out of character for him, but a hand on his shoulder spun him around and stopped him in his tracks. He hoped the distaste on his face was clear.

“I asked a question. Now I’m tryin’ to be nice here, but ignoring me is pretty rude, don’t you think? It’s not every day I’m so kind to strangers, especially ones slithering around my turf.”

Sweet Pea shoved Reggie’s hand off his shoulder, “All I was doing was painting. What’s your deal, man?” 

“ _My_ deal? I dunno if you noticed, sweetheart, but you started actin’ bratty first. How ‘bout you cool off and we start this discussion over?” offered Reggie.

Sighing, Sweet Pea relented, “Fine. Whatever. No, I don’t go here.”

Reggie grinned and Sweet Pea didn’t like how straight his teeth were. He wanted to punch them.

“Now was that so hard? I’m Reggie Mantle.” 

Sweet Pea eyeballed the hand Reggie extended and thought about swatting it away and just walking off like he originally planned. The guy seemed like he was being friendly, but everything he said felt like a backhanded compliment. There was the stench of superiority and smugness floating around Reggie and Sweet Pea really wanted to put him in his place.

Hell, he wasn’t in the mood for a tussle right now though. What could acting civil hurt?

Shaking Reggie’s hand, firmly, Sweet Pea responded with, “I know. We’ve met before. Kind of.”

“Say what? Well, now that you mention it…” Reggie trailed off, dropping Sweet Pea’s hand and opting to rub his chin in thought. “You wouldn’t happen to be the night worker at Pop’s, would you? I gotta tell you, you look different without the bowtie and turtleneck. This look is better though- white doesn’t flatter you like black.” 

“I don’t think those uniforms suit anyone but Pop. He just has the friendly atmosphere down." Sweet Pea admitted, "I hate it. Especially the hat. For some reason, when I finally put it on, it's like the whole outfit gets a million times worse. I'm lucky I got a shift so late otherwise people would actually have to see me like that. It makes me look like a total square."

Reggie snickered, "Man, you talk a lot once you get started up."

Sweet Pea glared, ready to walk off again when Reggie backtracked, "Not that it's a bad thing. Your voice ain't half bad. I bet with some practice you could even sing right."

Sputtering, Sweet Pea yelled, "How would you even know what I sound like singin'? You creep on me in the shower?"

"Cute, but no. _Nineteenth Nervous Breakdown_ , right? You were humming it when I walked over," Reggie clarified. "You keep well with it. Not a lot of my friends like _The Rolling Stones_ ," he shrugged. 

"Your friends must be dorks then,"

Snorting, Reggie agreed, "Lucky they got me around to bump up their groove. Otherwise, they'd get eaten alive by the student body."

"Sounds vicious," Sweet Pea said uneasily. Things at Southside were rough when he still went. Kids formed cliques based on their gangs and neighborhoods- it was a lot of segregation. The thing was though, even if all their groups fought and excluded each other and occasionally got into fistfights, there wasn't any hierarchy. They were all raised scraping by and they knew the only thing they made any of them better than the other was keeping to their business and holding onto what they had. He could only imagine the aggression of a whole school full of self-centered dickheads that all thought they were top dog.

"It is what it is," Reggie said nonchalantly. "So, where do you go to school?" 

"I dropped out," Sweet Pea replied on instinct. Then, "I don't know why I told you that. It isn't your business."

Grinning, Reggie quipped, "That's just my natural charm taking into effect. There's a reason I'm known around here."

"From my experience, people like you are just overcompensating."

"My dick's big if that's what you're asking."

"Starting to sound a little defensive," Sweet Pea teased.

"Man, fuck off," Reggie said with a laugh, then followed up with, "Do you wanna go grab a burger or something? You probably get discounts at Pop's, yeah?" 

"I just met you," pointed out Sweet Pea.

"Yeah! Cool, right? And now we can go get burgers 'cause we're talking and I'm hungry." Reggie said eagerly, punching Sweet Pea's shoulder. 

"I, uh, sorry. I have to get home. Sleep before my shift."

Disappointment flashed on Reggie's face but it disappeared before Sweet Pea could really acknowledge it for what it was. "Yeah, okay. Your shift is real late, right? To early morning?"

"Ten to five,"

"Cool! Catch you later!" Reggie enthused with a pat to Sweet Pea's shoulder, then ran off towards the school without looking back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do I know when I'll update? Nah. Do I know how long this'll be? Nah. Do I know what's gonna happen? Sorta?


	2. strangers in the night exchanging glances

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _There were some perks to working the grill so late to so early. The situation wasn’t ideal, sure, but, when they had the time, his friends could come by and they’d have the whole restaurant to themselves thanks to the hours Sweet Pea worked. Which just so happened to be the arrangement tonight._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been two months already? Wack.

Sweet Pea would be willing to bet that most teens don’t particularly like having a job in fast food. While he could attest to the dislike of dealing with asshole customers and old geezers arguing that he did something wrong- _a plain cheeseburger would still have cheese on it! If you want one without cheese you’d order a hamburger there’s a fucking difference_ \- he finds comfort in the repetitive tasks he has to do. At the point he was at, he could make a burger with one hand behind his back and make a rootbeer float blindfolded.

He honestly loved his job. The people in Riverdale loved Pop’s and usually behaved in house. Sweet Pea had actually met quite a few characters on his shift who he probably wouldn’t have given the time of day otherwise. 

There was the oddball Sabrina that came in every few months and would rant to him about magic at three in the morning over a cup of coffee, making him swear to keep it all secret despite the fact that Sweet Pea didn’t believe in magic in the first place and didn’t really care to share what she told him. There was a chill chick named Valerie that would come in some nights to study and play music on the jukebox, and she would sometimes be carrying a bass and practice when the shop was empty. (Bass nights were Sweet Pea’s favorite nights. Not that he would ever tell her that.) Mister Andrews, the construction company guy, came in fairly often too. He never said much but always offered a kind smile and fatherly advice if Sweet Pea looked stressed about something. It made him wonder what it’d be like to grow up well off with a loving dad of his own. He tried not to dwell on it.

So, there were some perks to working the grill so late to so early. The situation wasn’t ideal, sure, but leading the life he had, Sweet Pea learned how to manage by looking on the bright side. And by “learned” he meant he was told to do it by Toni. She had always been the more optimistic of the two.

Another little benefit was that, when they had the time, his friends could come by and they’d have the whole restaurant to themselves thanks to the hours Sweet Pea worked. Which just so happened to be the arrangement tonight.

“You guys don’t have to sit around here, you know?” Sweet Pea said while bringing his friends their order of five burgers, three for Jughead alone, and a basket of fries, ”I’ve gotten pretty used to the peace and quiet. It’s nice.”

Toni gave him an affronted look, “You’re the loudest out of all of us, Pea.”

“Yeah,” Jughead agreed with a mouthful of food, causing the other three to grimace.

“Man, cut that out,” Fangs told him, throwing a crumpled napkin across the table.

Ignoring Jughead’s lack of table manners, Sweet Pea asked, “No, seriously. What made you guys want to hang the night shift with me? I get it’s Saturday and all, but it can’t be too interesting sittin’ here watching me flip patties. Isn’t there some new horror flick playin’ this weekend at Twilight? I’ll bet the gloomy weather really sells the atmosphere.” 

“It got postponed. Ben has some sort of emergency tonight so I’m off.” Jughead explained, swallowing. “And I don’t have anything better to do than watch you be polite with strangers and bend to their every will.”

“Oh, ha ha.” Sweet Pea deadpanned. Then he turned to Fangs and Toni, “What about you two?”

“I was just craving greasy food,” Toni said around the straw of her milkshake, obviously lying. They all knew she just wanted to come hang out like they usually did on free weekends, but asking her was routine at this point.

“My insomnia was acting up again,” Fangs admitted, “Everyone else at home was asleep already and I didn’t want to bother them.”

Sweet Pea gave Fangs a sympathetic look, “Well I guess I appreciate the company. It’s weirdly slow tonight. Usually, there’s more Northsiders in here,” he noted, looking around the empty diner. “I guess they aren’t out and about because of the movies being closed. Which means you all are lucky. If I got in trouble because a fight broke out I would ring your necks,” he threatened. 

“Oh, yeah!” Toni exclaimed. “You have to be on your best behavior since Pop is thinking about promoting you soon, ain’t he?” she asked.

Grinning, Sweet Pea bragged, “I think so. I’m gonna get a new badge that says manager across it. Spiffy, yeah? I get better pay with the manager title too.” 

A small chorus of congratulations rang from the sitting trio, and Fangs tacked on a “That means you can pay for our food more often and give us better discounts.”

“Isn’t worrying about food Juggie’s job?” Toni joked, causing Jughead to hum in agreement around his second burger.

Glancing at the door and noting that it didn’t look like anyone was coming, Sweet Pea decided to take a seat next to Fangs in the booth and listened to his friends talk about everything that had been going on in school. 

Apparently, there had been some conflict between the Serpents and Ghoulies again because a couple kids got busted carrying around some new drugs, and both gangs automatically pinned it on each other. Sweet Pea had rolled his eyes at that, knowing that there hadn’t been any new drug shipments to the Serpents in the past few weeks since it wasn't rare for FP to send him on day-runs.

They also told Sweet Pea about the things they had been learning in school. Fangs was in the middle of explaining whatever the hell logarithms were to Sweet Pea when the bell above the door rang, signaling someone had arrived.

Sweet Pea looked up from the graphs Fangs had drawn on the back of a menu to see a group of Northsiders waltz into Pop’s emitting boisterous laughter. Their tones didn’t lower at all once they caught sight of the group already seated, rather, their cocky looks grew and Sweet Pea felt his breath catch a little at the one front and center.

Leading the pack of lettermen clad jocks was Reggie Mantle, looking a lot less casual than he did earlier in the day and a lot more like the natural prick Sweet Pea assumed he was. Luckily, and a little hurtfully, Reggie didn’t acknowledge him when he and his posse walked by, taking their seats at the opposite end of the diner. Once they passed, Sweet Pea rose with a bitter smile to his friends and went back behind the counter, turning back on the grill and getting ready to get back to work.

The Serpents had quieted down significantly and Sweet Pea couldn’t help but feel a little guilty at his friends’ discomfort. With a sigh, he grabbed his notepad and made his way over to the new customers and forced a neutral look on his face, “What’ll it be fellas?”

“How about fried snake?” joked a ginger football player, giving Jughead a pointed look, causing the boy to sink in his booth and continue eating. A few of the other players snickered at the less than mediocre verbal attack.

“Sorry, we only have beef.” Sweet Pea spat, wondering if any of the morons in front of him would understand the play on words. From the raised eyebrow and small smirk Reggie gave him, he figured there was at least one working brain among the Bulldogs.

A dark-skinned jock spoke up, “Doesn’t Pop have standards anymore? Why is he allowing hobos in here?” 

Feeling the small amount of rage already accumulated in him flare up more, Sweet Pea was just about to inform the gaggle of goons of exactly what Pop’s standards were when Reggie punched the asshole in the arm with a stern look, “Pop’s is a sanction, Chuckie, always has been. Don’t start shit just cause the old man ain’t here. It’s practically sacrilegious! ‘Sides,” he glanced at Sweet Pea with a twinkle of mischief in his eye, “it looks like you and Jay are pissin’ off the busboy and y’all gonna be benched if you get us kicked out of the best joint in town.”

“You gonna kick us out, bowtie?” the ginger, Jay, asked snidely and Sweet Pea had to resist the urge to throw a punch at how much the guy reeked of douchebaggery. 

“Taking out the trash just so happens to be part of my job description.”

Reggie choked on a laugh at Sweet Pea’s comment, and the sound was so horribly unattractive that the Serpent felt a grin break across his face. “The balls on this guy!” Reggie exclaimed, looking way too giddy for someone whose friend was just called garbage. Catching his breath, he turned to Sweet Pea, “Give us a bit to order, yeah?”

Sweet Pea nodded, feeling pretty prideful and went back to his friends to check in on them. “You guys good?”

Jughead nodded mutely, avoiding looking at the other occupied booth as he slurped on his milkshake. Toni stopped giving him a worried look in order to answer Sweet Pea, “We’re okay, but probably gonna head home soon.”

Sweet Pea nodded in understanding, “Don’t sweat the cleanup. Maybe we can meet up tomorrow?” he offered.

“Arcade should be vacant tomorrow morning with folks going to church,” Fangs pointed out, to which the other three perked up. “Getting there right at opening gives Pea some time to sleep too.” 

“I’m cool with that,” Sweet Pea said. Toni and Jughead agreed as well and soon enough the shorter three Serpents were heading out of Pop’s and back to Sunnyside. Sweet Pea was in the middle of wiping down their table when he heard the familiar sound of a coin falling into the jukebox and the arm grab a record. He glanced over at it and saw Reggie there looking contemplative. 

Sweet Pea was dropping dirty dishes off in the sink to soak when a slow song started up. He looked back over at Reggie, who was now walking towards the bar. Sweet Pea wiped his hands on a towel and met Reggie there. “Figure out what you want?” 

Sighing dramatically and taking a seat at one of the barstools, he answered, “Success and contentment? And a couple gazillion dollars never hurt no one.” 

“Food wise, smartass.” 

“Four regular cheeseburgers with cokes,” Reggie answered, holding up three fingers, then correcting it to four with a sheepish look. “Oh, and a vegan burger or whatever after a while to go.” 

Sweet Pea raised an eyebrow, “Haven’t made one of those in a while.”

“It’s for Jason’s sister,” Reggie explained, “She’s been bitchy and craving something a little greasy. Must be her time of the month or something.”

Scoffing a laugh, Sweet Pea turned to the grill to start on the burgers, “Is that his words or yours?”

“His. Definitely. Cheryl would kill me if she caught me talking ‘bout her behind her back. She’s the _say-it-to-my-face-or-not-at-all_ kinda gal. A real bombshell.” Reggie told, “Basically, she’s always a bitch so it’s dumb to attribute her attitude to her Lady Thing.” 

“You must be a real charmer with the ladies,” Sweet Pea mocked.

“I’m a real charmer with _everybody_. Thank you very much.”

“Yeah…” Sweet Pea looked at Reggie for a moment before shrugging, “I don’t see it.”

“Ouch. Not a Sinatra fan, I take it?” Reggie asked, nodding towards the jukebox. “That’s a shame. I’ve always liked his voice. He just oozes romance, y’know?” 

Raising an eyebrow at Reggie’s far off dreamy look, Sweet Pea commented, “I like Sinatra fine, but everyone does. You know how many times I hear him on shift? Sometimes I wish Pop wasn’t so good at keeping up with new records. Honestly, I’d rather listen to some dated Sinatra. New stuff gets old fast and not in a good way.”

“Ohhh, like _You Make Me Feel So Young_? That isn’t that old.”

“It’s a decade old, Reg. That’s old for music, and it was first written in the forties, so that makes it even older.” 

Reggie grinned at him, “You know your music, huh? I like that.”

Casting Reggie an unimpressed look while sliding a tray of burgers across the counter, Sweet Pea said, “I thought we established that earlier.” Then, he gave a pointed glance to the three Bulldogs at the booth, “They the dimwits that don’t know nothin’ about music?”

A pitiful chuckle came from Reggie, “Yeah, aside from Moose, they think it’s kinda girly to be real into it. Like using it for an art form and not just a method to pick up chicks is somethin’ to repent for.” 

Sweet Pea hid his surprised expression by turning away to make drinks, “That’s...that’s pretty fuckin’ dumb.” He turned back to Reggie, setting the drinks on the tray. “Who cares what they think, yeah? Tons of fellas go into music and make somethin’ outta it. Ain’t no shame in self-expression.”

Beaming, Reggie picked up the tray, but not before fishing some cash out his pocket and setting it on the counter. “Thanks, man. Keep the change. Consider it payment for the confidence boost.”

Rolling his eyes, Sweet Pea retorted, “Don’t know why I’d want to inflate _your_ ego.” 

Sweet Pea feigned an annoyed look that fell apart as soon as Reggie walked away laughing. He felt a flutter in his gut at the sound and it didn’t disappear until long after the jukebox went silent and he was left humming old Sinatra songs on his way home.


	3. it's not unusual to have fun with anyone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _If you were to ask Sweet Pea what the arcade was like on a typical Sunday morning, he’d say it was sorta like Pop’s late at night, but just a tad more lively. Today, however, the place was a total ghost town._

If you were to ask Sweet Pea what the arcade was like on a typical Sunday morning, he’d say it was sorta like Pop’s late at night, but just a tad more lively. Today, however, the place was a total ghost town and the only phantoms haunting the worn-out carpeted floors were him and Jughead, who had unintentionally decided he was going to start being antsy in a way that always ticked Sweet Pea off.

“Christ Jug, stop tapping so much. You don’t even have a good beat goin’ on.” Sweet Pea complained, causing the other teen to still his fingers.

“It’s not on purpose,” came Jughead’s pitiful reply. He lasted about half a minute before he started bouncing his leg, shaking the table they were seated at. Sweet Pea heaved a sigh, knowing the one way to calm Jughead’s nerves.

He rose from his seat, “Pizza or nachos?”

The beanie-clad boy gave a grateful look, “Nachos. Thank you.”

With a mumbled, “Whatever,” Sweet Pea trekked over to the little food bar at the back of the arcade. 

Sweet Pea really tried not to get angry with Jughead, not just with his weird ticks but in general, but damn! The kid’s anxieties were practically infectious and if Sweet Pea really, truly hated one thing, it was feeling anxious.

He knew why Jughead was being so fickle though. The original plan was for Fangs, Toni, and Jughead to meet at the arcade before Sweet Pea. Unsurprisingly, but still upsettingly, it was Sweet Pea, Toni, and Jughead who had shown up. It wasn’t rare for Fangs to show up late when they had plans, but that didn’t worry his friends any less when it happened. 

See, Fangs used to get Saturday detention consistently. No one gave it a second thought at first, seeing how it seemed that half the student body at Southside was getting detention every other day, but Fangs never started a fight unprovoked unless he had something to prove. He hadn’t told anyone the reason he kept getting in trouble until it started to get out of hand. He kept falling asleep in class. It was getting bad enough to affect his grades too, which was how Sweet Pea found out.

It was a normal day where Sweet Pea had just decided to spend time at the Fogartys’ place when Fangs’ Abuela brought up his report card. It confused Sweet Pea why Fangs wouldn’t have told anyone. Then Fangs had uttered out an ashamed reply about falling asleep in class. 

Sweet Pea then told Toni, something Fangs was upset about for a while but got over as he always did when Sweet Pea overshared about stuff, personal or otherwise. They all told Jughead not long after, who had the idea to talk to the school nurse.

She was too nice to last at the school long, that’s what Toni had said, but before leaving, she did suggest that Fangs had some sort of DSPS. From what Sweet Pea understood, that meant Fangs’ sleep schedule was fucked to all hell. So, the other three decided they’d do all they could to help their friend out. Toni and Jughead would stop by Fangs’ trailer before school and make sure he didn’t sleep through his alarm. Sweet Pea couldn’t do as much, but if he noticed the trailer lights on while he was walking to work, he’d stop by Fangs’ and remind him that he needed to get some rest before Sweet Pea put him to sleep himself.

All in good heart of course.

This morning, Toni volunteered to go check on him after scolding Sweet Pea for showing up early. His stomach had dropped when she did that. He didn’t think she had any intention to make him feel like shit, and he knew he only had himself to blame. His best friend could hardly get enough sleep and here Sweet Pea was purposely getting less just so he could play some games.

He walked back to the table he and Jughead had settled down in, the waft of the melting nacho cheese made its way to his nose and he felt his stomach growl. On top of being a shitty best friend, he forgot to eat breakfast too. He set the basket of nachos down and took his seat. His displeasure must’ve shown, otherwise Jughead was suddenly a psychic and could sense Sweet Pea’s worsening mood. 

“Thanks, again… why do you look constipated?” Jughead asked, uncharacteristically not making a move towards the food.

“I don’t,”

“Pea... I don’t think I need to remind you of your promise.” 

Sweet Pea felt his face contort more at that reminder. Jughead always pulled this crap when he knew Sweet Pea was hiding something. Heaving another heavy sigh, he forfeited, “Yeah, okay. I’m upset, so what?” 

A small frown formed on Jughead’s face. He still hadn’t touched his nachos. “Don’t belittle your feelings-”

“I’m not having feelings.” Sweet Pea pulled off his hoodie, starting to feel a hot rush of familiar anger dampen his skin. He knew he should talk about what was bothering him, but that didn’t mean he  _ wanted _ to, and Jughead damn well knew that.

“Sweet Pea,” Jughead said, exasperated, “Just talk to me.”

Shifting in his seat and glaring past Jughead’s shoulder, Sweet Pea admitted, “I don’t think I’m doing enough. For Fangs. Toni. You too I guess.” He pushed the basket closer to Jughead.

“What do you mean?” Jughead finally picked up a chip and the tension in Sweet Pea’s figure lessened. “It isn’t like you’re our mom. We don’t expect you to take care of us.”

“I could have gone an’ woke up Fangs. I could do it more often.”

Rolling his eyes, Jughead said, “If your sleep schedule gets messed up too, where does that leave us? Think it through, Pea. Besides, Toni and I can handle going and waking up Fangs. You’re starting to sound like more of a drag than me.” 

“This is why I don’t like talking to you,” Sweet Pea huffed and stole a nacho.

“Because I’m always right?”

“No, because you’re a shitty therapist.” 

“And that’s why I don’t charge for my services.” 

The conversation trailed off there. In some form of solidarity, Jughead moved the basket to the center of the table so it wouldn’t be awkward for Sweet Pea to share with him. He wouldn’t say it, but he appreciated that small gesture more than the psychoanalysis. Once the basket was empty, they scattered their quarters and dimes across the table to figure out how many tokens they could buy between the two of them. In the middle of counting, Toni and Fangs showed up and added their own pocket change to the pile.

They only stayed at the arcade for a few hours. Lunchtime brought in all the younger kids from church, eager to spend their weekly allowances. Sweet Pea was in the middle of playing  _ Batter Up!  _ when a group of preteen boys gathered around and began watching him. He didn’t mind the crowd, however, he did mind that two of them, one with braces and the other with a poorly done bowl cut, were staring at his neck. 

It distracted him enough that he lost the game just shy of beating the high score. The game over screen stared at him mockingly, followed by the leaderboard. He frowned in poor sportsmanship at the “ _ 2… PEA _ ” pixelated right under “ _ 1… ASS _ .” Talk about class.

Wordlessly, he walked away from the group of kids, back to the table they had claimed earlier. He grabbed his discarded hoodie off the back of his chair and pulled it on, fluffing up the hood to hide his tattoo. Toni, who was counting her spoils after beating Jughead at  _ Two Player Basketball _ , gave him an amused look.

“Nice entourage,” she commented, nodding to Sweet Pea’s left. 

He looked over his shoulder while fixing his hair to find the two boys from earlier were still watching him. Frowning he took a seat across from Toni. “They were staring at my tattoo.”

Toni shrugged, “They probably think it looks cool,”

“Maybe,” Sweet Pea said, glancing over his shoulder again to find that the two boys had disappeared. “Or maybe they’re gonna go snitch.”

“You don’t have to be so pessimistic, Pea.” She set aside her tickets and crossed her arms on the table, “Why don’t you actually try to enjoy yourself?”

“I was!” he defended a little too loudly, “But I’m not good with kids and there’s way too many here for my tastes.”

Rolling her eyes, Toni grinned, “You’ve been pulling that card way too much since you’ve turned eighteen, yet you’re always first in line to help with the Christmas drives. Tell me, Sweet Pea,” she leaned forward, narrowing her eyes, “You actually love when all those kids sit around and watch you play video games, don’t you? You just don’t know how to talk to them properly so you say you hate them.”

“How much am I gonna have to pay for this shrink sesh, huh? God. Both you and Jones are on my case today. What gives?” 

“Thought so,” Toni said, leaning back, “Just be good-mannered around them. You know how to do that, busboy.” 

Sweet Pea groaned and tossed his head back against his seat, “See, this is why Fangs is my favorite! He’s the only one that doesn’t try to therapize me!”

“That’s because you two are the world’s worst enablers and solve all your problems by committing arson,” pointed out Toni, “But it’s okay. Jughead and I love you two all the same.”

“Bleh,” Sweet Pea gagged. He sat back up, “I love you too, but please never bring it up in any circumstance. It’s bad for my image.” 

“Sure thing, Pea,” Toni laughed.

Sweet Pea failed to hide his grin, “Wanna grab the others and get outta here? It’s lunchtime.” 

Toni tucked her tickets into her pockets and stood up, “I’ll go find Juggie, you get Fangs. Let’s meet up at the prize table, cash in, and check out.”

“Sir, yes sir,” Sweet Pea saluted and jogged off to find the other Serpent. 

It took a bit of searching, with how Fangs had slithered off to a back corner of the arcade, but when Sweet Pea approached him, he understood why. Joaquin, an old friend of theirs and fellow Serpent was talking to Fangs. A year ago, that would have been a normal sight to see and Sweet Pea wouldn’t have thought much of it, but the thing was, Joaquin had been busted for smuggling drugs and was sent off to some “rehabilitation” center up near Shankshaw Prison. All the Serpents knew it was really just some front for labor exploitation of troubled minors. 

“DeSantos! What the hell, man? Where’s the jumpsuit?” Sweet Pea laughed as he walked up to the pair. He clapped Joaquin on the shoulder.

Joaquin startled, then relaxed when he saw it was only Sweet Pea. “Oh, wow. Sweet Pea, did you get even taller while I was away?” 

“No. Don’t say that,” Fangs interjected, “It’ll go to his head. You haven’t had to deal with his gloating.” 

“What was that? I can’t hear you from down there.” Sweet Pea teased. He dropped his hand from Joaquin’s shoulder, “It’s great to see you, Joaquin. Toni and Jones are around here somewhere- we’re planning on getting some grub, wanna mooch?” 

Joaquin gave a sad grin, “I wish I could, seriously, but if my PO caught me hanging with you guys…” he made a motion resembling a knife slitting his throat, “I’m right back where I started. I can’t do that to Ricky.”

Fangs and Sweet Pea shared a quick look before the shorter of the two spoke up, “We get it, Joaquin. Don’t worry, we can all hang once you're off for good, right?”

“Yeah,” Sweet Pea agreed, “Ricky’s a good kid. You just focus on doing right by him. The Serpents will always have your back if you need us.”

“I know.” Joaquin smiled a little easier. “Stay cool guys. I’m gonna go find the kid.”

“Always,” Fangs nodded, “Don’t be a stranger.”

“Never have been,” discreetly, Joaquin held up the Serpent gang sign before casually disappearing into the crowd. Sweet Pea hoped he’d end up okay.

Joaquin and Sweet Pea weren’t all that close, rarely spending time together without Fangs there too, but Sweet Pea liked him well enough. He seemed like a good guy, if not a little too secretive and trusting to a fault. Sweet Pea was endlessly loyal to the Serpents, sure, but he questioned some of the things they did every now and again. Not aloud in an arrogant way, of course, he wasn’t willing to risk his place like that, but he did voice skepticism when he thought they were heading in a bad direction. 

Joaquin on the other hand? Sweet Pea couldn’t think of a single time when the guy stood against one of FP’s calls. Hell, even Fangs, who rarely voiced any distress unless he was pushed, had questioned the gang's authority more than him. That unrestricted blind faith wasn’t good for anybody. It made Sweet Pea worry.

He sorta wished he’d made a better effort to get to know the guy before he was arrested. He decided to make that a priority once Joaquin could come back to the Wyrm. 

“Toni said to meet up at the prize counter,” Sweet Pea told Fangs. 

The other Serpent gave a grin and a nod, and the two of them made their way to the prize counter and got in line behind a group of kids. They looked around middle school-aged and talked way too loud.

“Did you beat that baseball game yet?” Fangs made idle talk as they waited.

“Nah. Some squirts threw off my game. I’ll just try again another weekend.” Sweet Pea sighed. “Two of them were real freaky. Staring at my tattoo the whole time.”

“Bummer,” Fangs leaned against a claw machine while they waited for Toni and Jughead, “They were probably just curious. Northsider kids get like that sometimes.”

“They’re too nosey for their own good. Buncha brats.” Sweet Pea muttered, eyeballing the group in front of them. One of them popped their gum loudly. Sweet Pea wrinkled his nose in disgust.

Fangs began laughing, “Stop making that face. You look like you’re going to kill them.”

“He wouldn’t do that,” said Toni, walking up with Jughead from Sweet Pea’s other side, “He likes kids too much.”

“I don’t like kids!” Sweet Pea argued.

“Yeah. I can’t see him as the fatherly type,” added Jughead. “Maybe a housewife,” he tacked on, not entirely sarcastically.

Sweet Pea sputtered as Toni giggled and Fangs hid a laugh behind a fake cough. “How the hell is that better, Jones?!” Sweet Pea demanded gruffly.

Toni set a hand on his arm, “Pea, that voice doesn’t intimidate any of us. Save it for the Ghoulies, yeah?” 

He crossed his arms, “I need new friends. And I’m not sharing tickets with any of you.”

When the group in front of them finally finished and wandered away, Sweet Pea came to realize he had the least amount of tickets out of all his friends. His shoulders sagged a bit when he came just shy of enough to get the weird reptile mask he saw. It would’ve been perfect for Halloween, he noted mentally. He opted to get a box of  _ Cracker Jacks _ and some fruit candies instead. He chewed on the caramel popcorn slowly while he fished around for the sticker inside.

“What’d you get?” Jughead asked after obtaining his prize of various snacks and a new patch to stitch onto his crown. Sweet Pea held up a sticker of a dog unceremoniously. Jughead snorted. “That’s the fruit of your efforts. A bitch.”

“Go fuck yourself,” Sweet Pea said and slapped the sticker onto the front of his shirt in a self-satisfied way. “You don’t have a dog sticker. You suck.”

“Do you even like dogs?”

“Some of my closest friends are dogs, Jughead. Don’t be so small-minded.”

Jughead raised an eyebrow and played around, “Really? Who?”

“Oh, you know. Hot Dog…your mom.”

“Very funny, wise guy.” Jughead deadpanned but grinned nonetheless.

They bickered a little long while Toni and Fangs chose their prices, then continued to bicker all the way to the convenience store.

They could’ve gone to eat at Pop’s, but cash was getting a little tight with the holidays coming up. So, much to Jughead’s very entertaining disappointment, they all settled for buying weenies off the rack at the gas station. Say what you wanted about cheap station food, but for a couple of punks like them, it was a lifeline. 

Sweet Pea, being the only member of their group with a steady income (Jughead’s paycheck from the drive-in was never too high considering how he always ate half the food on the job and lived at the damn place), was able to grab a few extra things like a bottle of pop and a container of cheeseballs to share.

The cashier rang up his things, and he felt a bit of sympathy for the tired-looking man. He looked like he’d rather be doing literally anything else. Sweet Pea hurried to hand over his cash and get out the guy’s hair. 

He met his friends outside where they were seated on a bench in front of the pharmacy next door. Sweet Pea sat his container down by Fangs, knowing he was the only one that wouldn’t open it prematurely, and leaned against the wall to eat his hotdog. 

“Lots of people on the road today,” Toni noted.

“Baseball game,” Sweet Pea replied, swallowing his bite. “ _ Yankees _ versus  _ Twins _ . I think New York is kinda down after last week though. They’re good, great even, but it’s been rough the last few years.”

Fangs looked up at him with a grin, hotdog already ate, “Not supporting The Mick this game? Are you sick or something?”

Sweet Pea gave him an appalled look, “Now I didn’t say that.” He crumpled up his napkin and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Micky Mantle had a fan-fucking-tastic comeback this summer and you know it. But that doesn’t mean the whole team did. Besides,” he uncapped his bottle of coke on the edge of the bench, “The Twins aren’t horrible or anything.”

“Jesus, Pea, you’re such a fanboy,” Fangs laughed.

“Kiss off, Fogarty.” Sweet Pea huffed. “You ain’t getting any cheeseballs now.”

“What a tragedy,” Fangs rolled his eyes at the same time Jughead asked, “Can we start eating those already?”

“Sure, whatever.” Sweet Pea picked up the container and tossed it to Jughead, who caught it easily enough. 

At some point during their people-watching, Sweet Pea moved to the other end of the bench to split the cheeseballs with Jughead. They weren’t really talking, mostly just listening to the music playing from the speakers inside the pharmacy. It was a nice day, so the owner had the door cracked open, allowing the fall breeze to wander through the aisles. 

Some people gave them dirty looks as they walked by. They weren’t donning their Serpent jackets, not wanting to draw a crowd at the arcade, but they still didn’t dress as well as most Northsiders. It really wasn’t too hard to tell who was from which side of the tracks these days.

Toni eventually got her hands on the cheeseballs too, which sparked a game of throwing them into each other’s mouths. It escalated to the point where they were both standing and throwing them across the bench with Fangs and Jughead keeping score, the latter taking handfuls of the snack for himself every now and then.

People were steering clear of their little competition for the most part. They paused when a mother with a stroller came towards them. She still gave them an “I’m better than you” look that irritated Sweet Pea but not enough to crush his mood.

Toni was tossing another cheeseball to him when he tripped over his empty soda bottle and fell backward. Luckily, he only fell onto his ass and not his head, but that was mostly because his head hit against something else and kept him upright. He stared at Jughead, who was closest to him, and his eyes flicked up and down from Sweet Pea’s face to something above him. His mouth was twisted into a half-frown, almost laugh, like the look he got when he made a particularly dark joke. 

Glancing at Toni and Fangs, they had a similar look on their faces. Sweet Pea looked up, only to be met with Reggie Mantle gazing down at him, an amused smirk on his face.

“Well, well, well. Looks like you’ve fallen for me,” he said, sidestepping Sweet Pea and holding out a hand. “We have to stop meeting like this.”

“You just love showing up at the most inconvenient times, don’t you?” Sweet Pea asked, taking the outstretched hand and standing up.  _ He looks different,  _ Sweet Pea thought, taking notice of the dark pants and leather jacket Reggie was wearing.  _ He almost looks like he could be one of us and not some meathead. _

“What can I say? I’m a sadist at heart.” Reggie grinned and glanced around the sidewalk, “ What’s with the cheese puffs everywhere?” 

“Cornhole with mouths and snacks,” Toni spoke up, walking closer in a way that screamed passive aggression. She smiled at Reggie, all teeth, “So, you two know each other?”

“Well, uh-”

“I mean-”

Sweet Pea and Reggie looked at each other, then back at Toni. She was staring at their still conjoined hands, prompting them to both let go.

Sweet Pea ran his now free hand through his hair, trying to fix it from where his fall fluffed it up, “Reggie is…”

Picking up on his hesitation, Reggie answered for him, “A customer. You’ve seen me around at Pop’s, yeah? I’m Reggie Mantle.” He held out his hand, the one he didn’t pull Sweet Pea up with.

Toni looked at him skeptically before taking his hand and giving a firm handshake. Sweet Pea knew from experience that she was squeezing his hand in a way that made Reggie’s knuckles rub together. It wasn’t pleasant.

“Toni Topaz,” Toni said. “I’m sure you’ve seen me around too.”

“I have,” Reggie nodded. “The pink is hard to miss.”

Grinning a little more naturally, Toni let go of his hand. They almost looked like they could have been friends. “I expected you to be more douchey.”

“Toni,” Sweet Pea said warningly, surprising them both and causing Reggie to look at him curiously.

“It’s fine,” Reggie said, more so to Sweet Pea. “Whatever rumors you’ve heard about me are probably true. I just know how to be polite if I wanna. Anyway,” he shifted his stance, tucking his hands in his jacket pockets, “I’m pretty busy right now, so I gotta scat. Catch you later.”

He passed Toni and walked down the sidewalk. Sweet Pea watched him go, wondering what the odds were that they’d run into each other three times in less than forty-eight hours.  _ Catch you later. _ Did that mean he was planning on stopping by Pop’s later? On a school night?

When Reggie was finally out of sight, Sweet Pea looked among his friends, realizing they were all watching him. Toni had her arms crossed and head tilted to the side, very obviously waiting for an explanation. Fangs looked intrigued, if not a little weirded out. Jughead looked…

“Jug?” Sweet Pea asked, not bothering to hide the concern in his voice.

Jughead blinked, the far off look in his eyes disappearing. “Yeah?” he asked, sounding unnervingly calm.

The other two’s attention shifted from Sweet Pea to Jughead. Sweet Pea stepped closer to the bench, “You look freaked.”

“Don’t mind me,” Jughead said hastily. “I just remembered something is all.”

The mood around the group shifted in a way that only happened during serious Serpent meetings. Sweet Pea felt uncomfortable and it was clear that awkwardness was mutual. He silently picked up the cheese ball container lid and screwed it back on, then picked up his empty bottle. “Well, what now?”

“Sweet Pea, are you kidding?” Fangs asked, startling Sweet Pea. “You have a casual conversation with a Northsider and just expect us to not talk about it.”

“...Yes? I have conversations with Northsiders all the time at Pop’s. You guys know I’m friends with Valerie Brown.”

“Valerie Brown isn’t a Riverdale Bulldog though. You hate those guys.” 

“Fangs is right,” Toni agreed. “Let’s go to the Wyrm for this though.”

Sweet Pea blanched, “It’s not a big deal, guys. He gives good tips. It’s not that deep.”

“With a name like Sweet Pea, I wouldn't expect you to reek of such bullshit. There’s something… weird going on there. So, we’re going to the Wyrm.” Toni stated in her No Argument voice. 

Fangs nodded and stood from the bench, “You totally flirted with the guy and he was obviously flirting back.”

“I didn’t-” Sweet Pea gave in, “Fine. Whatever. Let’s go before we get yelled at for making a mess.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> can you tell i love making pop culture references yet


	4. oh, i'm beginning to think that a man has never found

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“Did I miss the memo where we all agreed it was Fuck with Sweet Pea day? ‘Cause if so, I’d like to object to it. Everyone’s been on my case all day, what gives?” Sweet Pea complained. He needed space to **think.** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little shorter than usual, but that's okay because Peaches is in this chapter.

The Whyte Wyrm was probably Sweet Pea’s favorite joint in town. Sure, he loved Pop’s, but nowhere felt more like home than the dingy trailer park bar. There was something about the dim lights and quiet music always playing that made the place real groovy. He recognized the current song playing as one that had seemed to be on loop at the pharmacy. Something by _The Association_ that felt just a little too ironic for his situation. Despite said situation, Sweet pea really didn’t know what he’d do without the Whyte Wyrm. It was his sanctuary. 

“So, when you’d start talking up the Bulldog?” Fangs asked not more than two paces from the door.

Sweet Pea scolded, “Jesus, Fogarty, have some tact. We just got here.” 

Fangs gave him a sour look, knowing Sweet Pea was just trying to avoid the inevitable. Sweet Pea couldn’t give a crap if Fangs was annoyed with him though. They were reading way too far into things, and honestly, Sweet Pea’s private life should be just that. Private.

Not that Reggie was involved in any sort of private life with Sweet Pea. Obviously. He was just a customer. 

Sweet Pea started to make a B-line to the bar. Behind him, Toni cleared her throat.

Stopping, he asked, “What?”

“We’re going to go to a table. Don’t stall,” she said.

He rolled his eyes, “Sure, mom.”

She gave him an unimpressed look and led the other two boys towards a table near a wall decorated with neon lights stolen from gas stations and roadhouses. He turned back to the bar and momentarily took a seat at one of the barstools. 

He gave the room a once-over, taking in the neon-lights, sound of pool balls clacking, and the smell of too many cigarettes. It was almost enough to calm him down. Absentmindedly, he ran his finger over a small carving on the bartop. He looked down at the letters there.

“You’re still too young to drink alcohol, Piss Brain.”

Sweet Pea looked up and gave a snide smile, “Lovely seeing you too, Peaches. You’re still too young to be serving alcohol.”

“Keep complaining, girly boy. I’ll send your ass to the curb.” Peaches snipped, pouring Sweet Pea a watered-down glass of the cheapest beer behind the counter. He grimaced.

“Sure you would, skirt.” Sweet Pea picked up the cup and took a sip, frowning at the taste. “Why do you always have to give me the worst shit?”

“Because I hate you,” she leaned on the bar and popped her _Bazooka Joe_ in Sweet Pea’s face, grinning at his disgruntled look.

Sweet Pea wouldn’t exactly call Peaches ‘N Cream a friend. They had met in the last year or two after the Serpents robbed her mom’s pawnshop. She had stormed into the Wyrm in a rage, marched right up to FP Jones, and spat in his face. Sweet Pea couldn’t _not_ respect that. He’d never seen anyone, let alone a girl, stand up to their leader like that.

Of course, he voiced this, to which she promptly left him with a bloody nose, only gaining more respect. It was him and Toni that approached her about joining the gang, which she wasn’t keen on at first. After hashing some things out, promising protection to Peaches’ family, and the return of everything stolen, she agreed to join. 

It was a fucked up, like some sort of possession hostage situation, but hell if Peaches hadn’t proved useful when some of the older, entitled guys got too drunk and handsy with the younger girls. 

So, she wasn’t a friend, but she was a damn good ally. And she was fun to bitch back and forth with. 

“Lay it on me. Why do you look sadder than normal?” Peaches asked as she filled up the glass of a guy a few seats over. Sweet Pea gave him a half-salute, which was returned with a small wave.

“Awe, you do care,” he teased Peaches, taking another sip. Muttering into his cup, he said, “They think I caught feelings for some guy.”

“Well, did you?” Peaches prompted. “And why’s it matter? Everyone knows you’re a candyass.”

“He’s a Northsider.”

Peaches' face cracked into a smile that she quickly hid behind a hand, “Oh my god, you’re kidding. That’s so embarrassing for you. I almost feel bad.”

“I’m so glad you find this funny,” Sweet Pea deadpanned. “I don’t like him by the way. The first time I had a conversation with him was yesterday.”

“If Toni thinks you have a crush on someone then you have a crush on someone,” Peaches said matter of factly. “That’s just how it is, loverboy.”

“Oh, yeah. ‘Cause you know all about Toni and crushes, huh?” Sweet Pea snapped.

Peaches smirked, “I’m so, so sorry I get laid more often than you. Now get away from my bar, Piss Brain, I don’t need you sulking.”

“You know you’ll miss me,” Sweet Pea fake-cooed as he stood.

She gave him a threatening gaze and cracked her knuckles in response. He decided to leave the conversation there, although not without a little hesitation. Even if Peaches did try to break his nose again, it probably wouldn’t get him out talking about Reggie.

He dragged himself, like a man to his execution, to the table the others were at. They dropped whatever they were talking about as soon as he sat down and looked to him expectantly. 

Sweet Pea drank some more of his crappy beer-water, staring back at the three of them. 

Surprisingly, Jughead was the first to speak up, “So, Reggie Mantle?”

“The promise doesn’t count towards this, Jug. Just so you know.” Sweet Pea clarified. 

“I figured. I’m shocked is all. You know those guys don’t like us.”

“Chill out, will you? Jeez, I can’t believe _I_ have to be the one to say that. I don’t think any of the Bulldogs even know I’m a Serpent. You guys know Pop has a rule against gang shit.” Sweet Pea looked around the group, “I don’t have anything goin’ on with Mantle either. We met yesterday, he stopped by the diner, and we chatted about _Frank Sinatra_ for Christ’s sake. Pretty average interaction.”

“Pea, he flirted with you,” Toni said slowly like she was explaining something to a child, “And you looked into it. You were checking him out, which I don’t blame you for, but still.”

“And you got weird when Toni talked to him,” Fangs butted in.

“Yeah!” Toni exclaimed, now looking offended. “You say people look douchey all the time, but I say it once and you go all,” she lowered her voice in an imitation of Sweet Pea, “Toni.” Talking normally again, “That was BS. You wanted to seem nice to him.”

“I-” Sweet Pea tried, but couldn’t find the words to defend himself. In all seriousness, he didn’t know why he was trying to impress Reggie. He hardly ever got so worked up over a little gossip either. Maybe it was… Maybe… “I don’t know why I did that.”

“I just told you why, moron,” Toni said, rubbing his shoulder. “Don’t wig out. I know you aren’t used to the love bug. You're still on my shitlist for talking to me like that, though.”

“Did I miss the memo where we all agreed it was _Fuck with Sweet Pea_ day? ‘Cause if so, I’d like to object to it. Everyone’s been on my case all day, what gives?” Sweet Pea complained, feeling caged. He needed space to _think,_ not a bunch of people probing at him. “If I want to tell you guys something I’ll do it.” 

“That’s the thing, Sweet Pea,” Jughead started, “You don’t want to tell us things. You’ll just let it build until something bad happens.”

Sweet Pea frowned, knowing he couldn’t argue with that. Fucking Jughead and his promises. Upset, Sweet Pea gulped down the rest of his drink before standing. “I’m heading home,” he announced, “I need to sleep before work.”

His chest hurt at their mixture of sympathetic and disappointed looks. It hurt more to push it down.

“I’m not mad,” he added, quieter. “Just give me some time to cool off. Talk tomorrow?” he asked hopefully. The tightness in his lungs lessened a little at their nods of agreement.

“We’ll stop by your place tomorrow afternoon,” Fangs promised. 

Sweet Pea nodded once, then brought his glass back to the bar. Peaches raised her eyebrow at him but said nothing as he left.

It was colder outside. He pulled up his hood and tucked his hands into the pocket of his hoodie, cursing quietly as the breeze from earlier had turned to a stronger wind that whipped at his face. He marched against it all the way to his trailer.

Once inside, he stripped his jacket and boots off, bypassing his bathroom and going directly to his bed. He’d wake up a little earlier and take a shower before work. Sighing heavily, he face-planted onto his bed, then rolled up in his blanket. Reaching one arm out of his cocoon, Sweet Pea turned up the radio’s volume before closing his eyes.

_“-nd now, The Association’s Cherish.’”_

_“Cherish is the word I use to describe / All the feeling that I have / Hiding here for you inside,”_

Sweet Pea groaned and rolled over, pulling his blanket over his head to muffle the song.


End file.
